The 90th edition of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club feels more wide open than most.
Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa are on the mend from back injuries. World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has a new baby boy and hasn’t played in nearly a month.
“It just makes this event a little bit more special and even more fun going out there and playing against the best,” said Patrick Reed.
A Deep Field at Augusta
Mark Schlabach notes that Scheffler hasn’t been as dominant, and McIlroy and Collin Morikawa have been dealing with back injuries, so it does feel as if it’s wide open. There could be as many as 10 to 12 golfers who could win a green jacket this week.
The aforementioned previous major champions might not even be the favourites because of their injuries and long layoffs.
Perhaps it’s LIV Golf League stars Jon Rahm or Bryson DeChambeau, or former Masters champion Reed, who left the Saudi Arabia-financed circuit before the season and is returning to the PGA Tour this fall.
Reed has five top-10s at Augusta National since 2018, which is tied with Rahm, Xander Schauffele and Cameron Smith for most.
“I just feel like with how deep golf has been, especially this past year to two years, that the fields are obviously getting a lot stronger,” Reed said. “I feel like the field this week is really strong like always. I feel like it used to be five or six, maybe seven guys. I definitely feel like this year you have 10 to 12 guys who have a really legitimate opportunity to win the green jacket.
“It just makes this event a little bit more special and even more fun going out there and playing against the best.”
Past Winners and Current Form
Paolo Uggetti notes the world ranking of every player who has won each of the past seven Masters, starting with Tiger Woods in 2019: sixth, first, 14th, first, third, first, second. Over the past decade, the tournament has consistently produced high-level winners.
More specifically, in the past four years, Scheffler, Rahm and McIlroy have all been one of the top favourites heading into the week.
This year feels different. Yes, Scheffler is still looming over the sport, but his form has dipped slightly from historic to really good.
McIlroy hasn’t shown his best so far this season and is still in the honeymoon phase after his dramatic win last year, and Rahm has played great golf on LIV but has underperformed in majors over the past few seasons.
Potential Surprise Victors
There does feel as if there’s a vacuum ready to be filled by either a random winner this year or an unexpected player who has shown form so far this season.
That means players such as Cameron Young, Jacob Bridgeman, Matt Fitzpatrick and Akshay Bhatia and Chris Gotterup.
Schauffele has been playing as well as anyone on the PGA Tour, and he could pick up the third leg of the career Grand Slam. So could Morikawa, who was playing great before his injury, and Brooks Koepka, who has already stacked up five major championship victories.
With several top players facing challenges, the 90th edition of the Masters Tournament could see a new name don the green jacket.